Dark Prophecy
by ShadowClan7
Summary: An ominous prophecy looms over the Clans, and it is up to five individuals to fulfill it. What happens when you take cats, determined to become warriors, and force them to make decisions and sacrifices?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Catch it Whitekit," called Lilykit as the she flung the moss ball toward him. Whitepaw hooked it with his claw as it soared by him and threw it to Sunkit.

"Sunkit, catch," he called as it flew toward her. She leapt for it, only to stumble when Firekit went charging into her.

"Hey! No fair!" called Sunkit as Sorrelkit went for the ball. Silverfur who was Firekit, Sorrelkit, and his mother and the mother of Sunkit and Lilykit, Skyflight were watching the kits play with their mates, Stormfire and Flameclaw.

It was leaf-fall in the Clans, and you could smell the crisp scent of leaf-bare slightly in the wind. Whitekit had never experienced leaf-bare because he was only five moons old (almost six), but the warriors said that is was filled with white flakes of something called _snow _that fell from the sky like rain.

"Oof," grunted Whitekit as he was caught off guard by an attacking Lilykit.

"Ha ha! Got you," she meowed triumphantly as she looked down at Whitekit. "You know what Bluepaw always says, the first rule a warrior apprentice has to learn is to never be distracted."

Ah, Bluepaw. How her eyes glinted that beautiful blue and sparkled when she looked at him. From the moment he had first seen her, he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her.

"Hey! Are you paying attention?" asked Lilykit as she got up and let Whitekit scramble to his feet. "Sorrelkit's got the ball and won't let any of us have it!"

"Then let's get her!" yelled Whitekit as he charged toward his littermate. He led Firekit, Lilykit, and Sunkit toward her before leaping onto her back. The other kits squealed in delight and jumped on her too.

"Not fair," she giggled. "Four against one!"

"That's what happens when you have the moss ball," mewed Sunkit.

"I wanna play a new game," called Sorrelkit as she sat up, gasping for breath.

"Good idea," said Whitekit, getting excited. He had the perfect game! "We can split up, she-cats against toms! The toms will be ShadowClan invading! I call Clawscar," he added to Firekit before he had time to open his mouth.

"I'm Tenderheart," called Sunkit.

"I want to be Lightwing!" meowed Lilykit excitedly.

"Okay, I'll be Sageflower!" exclaimed Sorrelkit. "Who do you want to be Firekit?"

Firekit bounced excitedly. "I'm going to be Foxwillow!" he said. "He's the best fighter by far!

"Okay," started Whitekit, "on the count of three, the ShadowClan warriors will cross the border and try to steal your piece of fresh kill," Whitekit flicked his tail at the moss ball. "ThunderClan needs to stop us. If they succeed, the she-cats win. If they don't and we get the prey…"

"They're crowfood!" finished Firekit.

"Yes, and we win," added Whitekit. "One, two, three!" Whitekit went right and Firekit went left, confusing the ThunderClan warriors for a moment, then they split up. Lilykit and Sunkit headed for him, and Sorrelkit headed for Firekit. Whitekit dug his claws into the ground and raced even faster toward the moss ball. He was just a mouse-length away when…

"Got you!" yelled Sunkit as she pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. As Whitekit managed to shove her off, Lilykit replaced her. Whitekit glanced over to see how Firekit was doing. Firekit was pinned down by Sorrelkit and couldn't get up no matter how much he tried. Finally, Firekit went limp in defeat. Yelling with triumph, Sorrelkit ran over to help Sunkit and Lilykit with him. Whitekit couldn't get up with all three she-cats on him, but at least his plan was working.

"We will show you no mercy, Clawscar!" yowled Sorrelkit. "We will defeat you like we defeated Foxwillow! This prey is ours. All four kits glanced over at the moss ball. Sorrelkit let out a gasp and sprang for it, and while Sunkit and Lilykit were distracted, he shoved them off. Firekit had gotten the moss ball while the she-cats had been distracted!

"Who's not paying attention now?" he yelled at Lilykit as he raced for the border, Firekit trailing behind him.

"Too bad Lightwing! You'll have to wait until next time!"

Lightwing glanced over, and then rolled her eyes as she saw the kits playing.

"Yea! Better luck next time, Tenderheart!" called Firekit. ShadowClan had won the game!

"See ya Sageflower," yowled Whitekit as he and Firekit bounded over to the Nursery, laughing.

"Kits, come inside," called Silverfur as he got nearer. "It's getting dark out! Look, the sun's going down!"

"But Silverfur!" wailed Lilykit from behind him. "We just started!"

"You've been out here since Sunhigh," sighed Silverfur, starting to look exasperated. "It's time to come in or you won't go outside tomorrow." That got Whitekit's attention, and by the sound of the dead leaves crunching under small paws all around him, it had gotten the other kits' too. Whitekit ran inside with the rest of his friends and littermates and settled down in Silverfur's nest.

"Good night, sleep tight," whispered Silverfur as she lay down by her kits. "Don't let ShadowClan bite."

Whitekit mumbled under his breath, "If they bit me, they'd wish they'd never been kitted."

"I know, little one," sighed Silverfur as she started to lick him on his head. After several heartbeats, Whitekit fell asleep under the rasping of his mother's tongue.

~Don't mind me, I'm just a Pagebreak~

Whitekit dreamed he was in a mossy clearing with several butterflies flying around him. Happily, he swatted at one with his paw, pinning it down. Then, a sharp jab in the side made him let the butterfly go and spin around. "Leave me alone!" he growled before he realized no one was there.

"But Whitekit! Skyflight said we could go outside now! You've been asleep for ages!" Whitekit blinked open his eyes to see Sunkit looming over him.

"All right! All right! I'm up," he panted, scrambling to his paws.

"Come on!" Sunkit urged. "Lilykit, Sorrelkit, and Firekit are already out! They'll get all the first picks of fresh-kill!"

Whitekit raced outside with Sunkit on his heels and raced over to the fresh-kill pile where Firekit, Sorrelkit, and Lilykit were waiting.

"What are you getting," Sorrelkit asked with a plump vole in her jaws.

"I'm getting a mouse if I can," meowed Whitekit. "Are there any left?"

"There's one somewhere in the middle, I think," said Firekit casually, already devouring his thrush. Whitekit dug through the fresh-kill until he found a mouse, just like Firekit said, in the very middle of the heap.

"Thanks," Whitekit purred as he started to eat his food. By the time he was finished, Lilykit, Firekit, and Sorrelkit were already in the clearing beside the Nursery.

"Come on," he whispered to Sunkit as an idea crept into his mind. "Let's sneak up on them and surprise them!"

Sunkit grinned. "They'll never see us coming." Whitekit began to creep slowly forward, placing his paws lightly. He and Sunkit sneaked behind the Nursery, and then started making their way around the other wall. When they reached the end, they peered around the corner and… too late!

"WindClan are invading," cane Firekit's screech from behind them. "Attack!" The breath was knocked out of him instantly and he knew that Sorrelkit and Firekit were on his back. As he scrambled around, trying to push them off, he rolled into the clearing followed by Sunkit and Lilykit. All five kits fell apart, laughing.

"If you want to sneak up on us," said Lilykit, still panting with laughter, "You might not want to go tromping around like a three-legged badger!"

"Three- legged badger yourself," retorted Whitekit finally, succeeding on pushing off the other kits, only to realize that Bluepaw was standing right over him. He gave his chest a few self- conscious licks before turning back to her.

Her eyes were brimming with amusement, "And I'm a fox that's come to eat you all!"

"Let's get her," yelled Sorrelkit, leaping on Bluepaw. All of the kits followed her lead, jumping on top of her.

Bluepaw dropped to the ground dramatically, "You've killed me!"

"Sorry Bluepaw," purred Icefur, as she pushed herself through the gorse tunnel followed by Lightwing, Windstep, and Robinpaw. "I forgot to teach you to fight kits!"

"The dawn patrol is back," yowled Whitekit as he jumped off of Bluepaw and ran over to the patrol. "Did you catch anything?"

"We were a border patrol, not a hunting patrol."

"Did you claw ShadowClan's eyes out?"

"Nobody invaded our territory."

"What about WindClan? RiverClan?"

"None of them either."

Silverfur padded up next to them, "Whitekit, stop pestering Robinpaw. Other Clans don't always cross the borders."

"But nothing exciting ever happens these days," Whitekit complained.

"I'm glad," meowed Lilykit. "Then we'll get to take part in the fun stuff instead of the warriors sorting it all out on their own."

"Hey Icefur," called Tenderheart from beneath the Highrock. "Would you be willing to take the evening hunting patrol led by Pineleg?"

"Sure," replied Icefur as she walked over to the fresh kill pile to get something to eat.

All of a sudden, Cloudfoot burst through the gorse tunnel.

"Sunningrocks," he panted. "RiverClan has taken the Sunningrocks!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Redstar," Tenderheart called, but Redstar was already pushing out of his den. Quickly, he recited names.

"Tigerstripe, Spottedfur, Icefur, Bluepaw, Honeypaw, Silverfur, Cloudfoot, you'll come with me. We'll be the main attack. Lightwing, Pineleg, Windstep, Sageflower, Robinpaw, Flameclaw, you go with Tenderheart. Take the long way around, near the Snakerocks. A second patrol should send RiverClan scattering."

Silverfur jumped forward as her name was called, then filed out of the gorse tunnel with the rest of the battle patrol. Spottedfur ran beside her through the woods.

"How many of them do you think there are," Spottedfur asked.

"Enough," answered Silverfur.

As they neared the rock wall, Silverfur realized that this was her first time out of camp since she had kitted. As she scaled up the wall behind her Clanmates, she remembered when she was an apprentice and how much harder it had been to climb back then.

"Do you remember when we were apprentices," she asked, voicing her thoughts.

"Yea," purred Spottedfur. "You fell in the river, remember?"

"How could I forget something like that," meowed Silverfur, shuddering. She hoped never to touch water again as long as she lived. When they got to the stream, Silverfur leaped gracefully over it before hearing a yowl of surprise behind her. She spun around to see Icefur helping a wet and shivering Bluepaw climbing out of the water.

"Great, now I'm soaking wet," Bluepaw complained.

"Running will warm you up," meowed Spottedfur sympathetically. "Great StarClan, I wonder how RiverClan can stand getting their paws wet.

"They're more like fish with fur if you ask me," panted Silverfur. The running was starting to tire her. She hadn't run this far in moons.

Finally, they reached Sunningrocks where Ripplestar, Rainclaw, and the rest of the RiverClan warriors were waiting.

"The Sunningrocks are ours once more," yowled Ripplestar, speaking mostly to Redstar. "They belong to RiverClan!"

"Never! ThunderClan! Attack!"

The rocks were soon alive with wrestling, screeching cats. Silverfur felt the blood roar in her ears as she lunged at a gray tabby, who she recognized as Moonleaf from Gatherings. Moonleaf yowled as Silverfur's thorn- sharp claws gripped her back and rolled over, squishing Silverfur under her. Silverfur shoved her off gasping for breath, but was too slow to regain it.

Moonleaf swiped her paw downward and knocked Silverfur's from under her, pinning her down to the ground. Silverfur went limp underneath her, hoping that an obvious trick might work.

"ThunderClan give up too easily," Moonleaf growled with satisfaction as she leaned forward to give Silverfur a sharp bite in her shoulder.

Silverfur shoved upwards as hard as she could, sending Moonleaf flying in surprise. Then Silverfur jumped on her before she could regain her balance, pinning her down. Giving her a quick nip on the neck, she released Moonleaf, who fled back to her own territory, then looked around for another cat to fight.

"Silverfur," Honeypaw was calling to her, seeing that she wasn't busy with a RiverClan warrior. Honeypaw was cornered by three giant RiverClan cats, who were advancing on her slowly.

"Hold on Honeypaw," she yowled, racing down the slope. With a battle screech, she leaped onto the biggest one, who happened to be the RiverClan deputy, Rainclaw. He rolled over to squash her, but she had learned that trick from Moonleaf. She jumped off his back, then leaped at him before he could regain his balance. Suddenly, claws yanked her off of Rainclaw, and she spun around to see Jabtooth with his claws in her back. Panic sparked inside her. She couldn't take both warriors at once!

Then, a yowl came from behind her.

"Spottedfur," she gasped in relief as Spottedfur leaped onto Rainclaw's back. Silverfur turned back to Jabtooth, and was surprised to see Honeypaw clinging to his back. Honey paw had already sent the other warrior fleeing back to her own territory. Silverfur nipped Jabtooth's front leg, then hind leg, causing his to collapse.

"Frog dung," he yelled as Silverfur pinned his hind legs down, Honeypaw his neck.

"Get off our territory," Silverfur hissed, releasing him. Jabtooth fled back to RiverClan territory, not bothering to look back.

"ThunderClan! Attack!" Silver fur heard a yowl from the woods. The second patrol had come!

RiverClan cats from everywhere started to race back to their own territory when they heard Tenderheart's yowl. Silverfur watched them run away, not looking back to see if the ThunderClan warriors were following them. Then, she turned back to look at Redstar.

Well fought, everyone," Redstar said, addressing his warriors. "RiverClan will think twice about setting paw on Sunningrocks again. Now, let's go home. Our Clan is waiting."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Whitekit was obviously worried sick about his mother. He said had heard of kits whose mothers had died when they were still kits, which started to scare Sunkit.

"Is Silverfur going to be okay," he asked Skyflight, who was pacing the clearing anxiously.

"I'm sure she will, little one," she soothed, licking his ear. As if Skyflight had given a signal, Redstar squeezed into the camp followed by the rest of the Sunningrocks patrol. Sunkit's heart leapt with joy when he saw Silverfur push her way through the gorse tunnel.

"Silverfur," Whitekit called to her, racing to the patrol. He had Sorrelkit and Firekit running right beside him.

"Hello, Whitekit," purred Silverfur as Sunkit walked up. "Are you three doing okay?"

"We thought you were gonna die," wailed Firekit from behind him.

"We were fighting warriors, not rogues or loners," Silverfur assured him. "Warriors don't kill without a very good reason."

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting," came Redstar's yowl from atop the Highrock. All the cats were already in the clearing, either from waiting for the battle patrol to return or sharing news about their victory at Sunningrocks.

"We won the battle," called Redstar, "and this called for celebration!"

Yowls of agreement met his words.

"And," Redstar went on. "I have decided the best way to celebrate our victory! Lilykit, Sunkit, Sorrelkit, Firekit, and Whitekit, come stand underneath the Highrock." Sunkit was confused. Were they going to be scolded for something? Then, she saw Whitekit bouncing up to the Highrock excitedly and she realized what it meant; She was going to be an apprentice!

Redstar touched his tail on Lilykit's shoulder. "From this moment until she receives her warrior name, this cat shall be known as Lilypaw." Redstar looked around for a moment.

"Cloudfoot," the leader beckoned the Cloudfoot with his tail. "You have shown your courage to ThunderClan time and time again. You will mentor Lilypaw. Train her well." Trembling with excitement, Lilypaw ran forward to meet her mentor and they touched noses. Sunkit's heart leapt as Redstar turned toward her.

"From this moment until she receives her warrior name, this cat shall be known as Sunpaw. Windstep, you will mentor her. _Good_,Sunkit thought. She's a good, strong warrior. I know you will teach her to have courage in the face of danger." Sunpaw ran forward and touched her nose to Spottedfur's. Next, Redstar's gaze fixed onto Sorrelkit.

"From this moment until she receives her warrior name, this cat shall be known as Sorrelpaw. I would like you to be her mentor, Spottedfur. I know she will work with wisdom and bravery to defend her Clan." Sorrelpaw and Spottedfur touched noses. The leader then looked directly at Firekit.

"From this moment until he receives his warrior name, this cat shall be known as Firepaw. His mentor will be Flameclaw." Then, Redstar addressed Flameclaw. "Your mentor was Mapleleaf. I trust you will pass your knowledge on to Firepaw as Mapleleaf has to you." Flameclaw and Firepaw touched noses. Finally, Redstar turned to Whitekit.

"From this moment until he has received his warrior name, this cat shall be known as Whitepaw. Tigerstripe, I believe you will be the best mentor for Whitepaw. Pass on your courage and bravery to him, and I know he will become a great warrior." Whitepaw scrambled forward, filled with so much excitement, Sunpaw thought he thought he was going to burst. Tigerstripe padded forward too and the two toms touched noses.

"I promise to teach you everything I know," Sunpaw heard Tigerstripe whisper.

"I'll make you proud," vowed Whitepaw.

"I know," purred Tigerstripe.

"Whitepaw!" Bluepaw led the chants, and the rest of the cats joined in. "Firepaw! Sorrelpaw! Sunpaw! Lilypaw!"

Sunpaw felt the warmth of the sun on her fur as the whole of ThunderClan chanted her name along with her denmates'.

Whitepaw bounded up to her, hopping around like a rabbit. "We're going to sleep in the apprentices' den tonight," he squealed before he was barreled over by Sorrelpaw. Lilypaw and Firepaw followed.

"Just remember that you won't be doing everything together," reminded Tigerstripe, coming up behind Whitepaw.

"But can we at least explore the territory together?" asked Sorrelpaw, her eyes wide and pleading. No one ever could resist Sorrelpaw when she looked at them like that.

Tigerstripe sighed, "I suppose, if it's all right with all of your mentors."

Sunpaw scented Cloudfoot, Spottedfur, Windstep, and Flameclaw came up behind her.

"It's all right with me," meowed Spottedfur cheerfully looking at the other mentors.

"I'm not busy," added Windstep.

"I'm supposed to be on a hunting patrol…

Sunpaw didn't hear the rest. She had spotted some butterflies and was too busy leaping up and trying to catch them. Only when one butterfly landed on her nose, making her sneeze and scaring off all the other butterflies, did Sunpaw once again angle her ears toward the conversation again.

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Cloudfoot.

"At the moment, Sunpaw."

Sunpaw looked over her shoulder to see everyone looking at her in amusement. Sunpaw looked down at her paws.

Spottedfur smiled, "Sunpaw, would you like to join us on a tour of ThunderClan territory?"

Sunpaw looked up looking half alarmed and half confused, "Of course I would! What would make you think I wouldn't?"

Tigerstripe let out a purr, "Let's go."

It was Sunpaw's turn to purr in amusement when Whitepaw race as fast as he could to the gorse tunnel, before realizing no one else was with him. He turned around in confusion only to see everyone's whiskers twitching.

"Just remember, I'm the mentor, you're the apprentice," said Tigerstripe.

"Yes Tigerstripe," stuttered Whitepaw before looking at his paws, embarrassed.

Tigerstripe purred, "I was teasing! I'm very glad that I have such an enthusiastic apprentice."

Whitepaw brightened and Sunpaw waited for Tigerstripe and Spottedfur to take the lead before pushing herself out of the gorse tunnel.

"Wow," she exclaimed when she got to the other end.

There was lush green grass and towering trees everywhere Sunpaw looked. Sunpaw saw rocks and holes, clouds and the sunshine, and even a squirrel before it also saw her and took off among the branches.

Her mentor, Windstep, whispered in her ear, "Sunpaw, welcome to ThunderClan."

Tigerstripe, Cloudfoot, Windstep, Spottedfur, and Flameclaw took the five apprentices all over ThunderClan territory that day. Sunpaw saw the ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan borders, the Thunderpath, the Twolegplace, the Sandy Hollow, the Sunningrocks, The Owl Tree, and even got a glimpse of the Treecut Place. After all that, it well past Sunset before they finally reached camp.

"Why don't you apprentices go and get some rest," suggested Tigerstripe. "We can do some more training tomorrow." Sunpaw thought this was a good idea, and she thought the others did too, judging by their tired expressions.

"See you tomorrow Windstep," meowed Sunpaw before walking over toward the Nursery. Sunpaw felt a nudge from behind her, and she turned around to see Whitepaw.

"We sleep in the Apprentices' Den now silly, remember?"

"Oh yea!" Sunpaw walked over to the Apprentices' Den, curled up in her nest, and quickly slipped into the heavy darkness.

~Don't mind me, I'm just a Pagebreak~

That morning, Sunpaw was the first one awake. Too excited to wait for the other apprentices, she slipped out of the den silently.

"Good morning, Sunpaw," Windstep greeted her out in the clearing. "Ready for some training?"

"You bet!"

Windstep purred, "Good, but first go wake Whitepaw and Sorrelpaw. We're going to practice some battle training while Firepaw and Lilypaw practice hunting. Then, we'll switch tomorrow.

"Sounds good to me," said Sunpaw cheerfully before bouncing off to find Whitepaw and Sorrelpaw. Sunpaw shoved her head into the den.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up! Time for training!"

Whitepaw and Firepaw jumped to their paws at once, but Sorrelpaw and Lilypaw curled back into their nests.

"But it's not even Sunhigh yet," Sorrelpaw complained.

"We're practicing hunting and battle training today…" Sunpaw started, but she was barreled over by Lilypaw as she leapt up and ran out into the clearing.

"Hey," she snapped, spitting fur out of her mouth. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," Lilypaw shot her an apologetic glance before racing off to find Cloudfoot.

The other apprentices walked out of the den in a more dignified manner.

"Ready?" Windstep's voice startled her out of thought.

Sunpaw's eyes glowed, "Yes!"

"All right then, let's go!"

~Don't mind me, I'm just a Pagebreak~

"First, we're going to practice battle training," meowed Windstep as they walked out of the gorse tunnel. "Then, tomorrow, we'll do some hinting. Whitepaw, Sorrelpaw, Spottedfur, and Tigerstripe should meet us in the Sandy Hollow. Does that sound good?"

"Yes, Windstep," Sunpaw responded. Both cats walked in silence for a while before Sunpaw broke it.

"Hey Windstep, why do some cats choose to be kittypets?"

"Well Sunpaw," he meowed thoughtfully, "Clan life doesn't suit all cats. Some cats just wouldn't be comfortable out here living in the forest."

Sunpaw was shocked that anyone would choose a _Twolegplace _over the forest. "But why? The forest is great!"

"Some cats don't think so."

As they reached the Sandy Hollow, Sunpaw stopped asking questions, though Whitepaw, who had gotten there first, was asking them repeatedly to Tigerstripe. It was after a while that Sunpaw muttered, "Are we going to start? Today would be nice!"

"Now Sunpaw," Windstep meowed softly. "A good warrior learns from their Clanmates. Whitepaw is just a curious apprentice, though I see you have much enthusiasm."

Oops! Sunpaw hadn't meant for anyone to hear. She looked at her paws.

"Sorry," she said softly, but was saved from having to say more by the arrival of Sorrelpaw and Spottedfur.

"Alright," Tigerstripe meowed. "Now that we're all here, let's get started. Today, we're going to learn a fighting move called the Leap-and-Hold. You'll need to use this if you're facing a larger enemy than you. Spottedfur and I will demonstrate." Probably a good idea, seeing as how Tigerstripe was _definitely _much larger than Spottedfur.

The she-cat leapt nimbly onto his back. Tigerstripe dropped onto his belly and rolled, leaving Spottedfur to leap off just in time.

"Usually, I would have my claws unsheathed," she explained, "But since this is only training, we don't want to hurt each other. Now, if your opponent uses the Drop-and-Roll method to get away, make sure you jump off to avoid getting squashed. Sunpaw listened intently. She was determined to get this right the first time.

"Now you try it," Tigerstripe commanded. "Who wants to go first?"

Everyone stayed silent.

"I guess I'll try," Sunpaw meowed. If no one else was going to do it, this might be her lucky chance.

"All right. Pretend I'm a ShadowClan warrior invading your Nursery." Tigerstripe dropped into a crouch and slithered forward. Sunpaw stared at his back, imagining how she would land on his back. Gathering her haunches and hoping that her aim was correct, she leapt for his back. She landed spot on and gripped as hard as she could without unsheathing her claws. Tigerstripe dropped to the ground, just like he had for Spottedfur, but Sunpaw was already leaping off him. Tigerstripe sat up.

"Great job, Sunpaw," Spottedfur purred, "but if Tigerstripe was a real enemy, your eyes would have betrayed what you were going to do, and he would have been able to stop you."

"I want to try," Sorrelpaw piped up. "I'm going to be just as good as Sunpaw!"

"No one can be as good as me in fighting," Sunpaw retorted. "No one will ever be. I'm going to be the best fighter ThunderClan has ever seen!" Whitepaw crouched down.

"No you won't! I will!"

"You two are so ridiculous! Everyone knows that I'll be the best fighter!"

"Sunpaw leaped onto Sorrelpaw at the same time that Whitepaw leapt at her, and Sorrelpaw at Whitepaw. All three apprentices stood in confusion at where their targets had last been.

When Sunpaw looked over, their mentors were all purring.

"You can save the play-fighting for later," Tigerstripe meowed. "For now, Sorrelpaw, why don't you try?"

Sorrelpaw locked her eyes onto Tigerstripe's paws, and pounced for his back. She did just as good as Sunpaw.

"Very good Sorrelpaw," Tigerstripe meowed. "Whitepaw, your turn." He turned on his apprentice, crouching down like he was about to attack.

Whitepaw was looking at Tigerstripe's belly, but right before he leaped, Sunpaw noticed that most of his weight was gathered on his left side. Whitepaw landed on Tigerstripe's back, but at an awkward angle, causing him to slip off, and giving Tigerstripe the opportunity to leap on top of him and pin him down.

"Your technique was good," meowed Tigerstripe, "But you were putting most of your weight on your left side. Try to balance yourself out before leaping.

"How about each apprentice practices the move with their mentors, that way they can all practice at the same time," Sunpaw's mentor suggested.

"Good idea, Windstep," Tigerstripe agreed. "Alright everyone, practice the move with your mentors." Sunpaw ran up to Windstep.

"When do we start?"

"Right now."

Windstep crouched down, hissing at Sunpaw. _Wow_, thought Sunpaw, _I'm sure glad he's on my side_. Sunpaw sprang up onto his back, and before he knew what was happening, she was hanging onto him with all her might. Windstep crouched down onto his belly; _Ha, I know this_, Sunpaw thought. She sprang from his back, but as she landed, something bug and heavy crashed into her and pinned her down.

"Hey!" she meowed. "I thought you were supposed to roll!" Windstep let her up.

"The Drop-and-Roll isn't the only move a warrior will do to avoid the Leap-and-Hold attack."

"Oh."

This time, try to predict what I'm going to do before you react."

It took Sunpaw until Sunhigh to master the move, but by the time that Lilypaw, Firepaw, Cloudfoot, and Flameclaw appeared at the Sandy Hollow, she was able to do it without even thinking.

Sunpaw and Windstep watched as Tigerstripe turned his attention to the arriving cats and was barreled over by Whitepaw. Tigerstripe got up, spitting grass out of his mouth.

"Well done, Whitepaw. You're going to make a great warrior."

"Are you ready to switch?" asked Cloudfoot.

"I believe so," said Tigerstripe with a hint of pride in his voice. "These three have already mastered our fir..." He cut off as Bluepaw came crashing out of the forest brush.

"What is it Bluepaw?" Tigerstripe meowed, stiffening.

"It's Icefur," she meowed, panting. "She got hit by a monster on the Thunderpath!"


End file.
